origami

A brightly colored crane for a dreary day.

Three origami cranes, in celebration of Mardi Gras.

The crane is considered to be the most iconic of all origami models. It’s easy to learn and easy enough to fold - and the crane is considered to be a symbol of good luck and longevity. Consequently, a Japanese tradition states that someone who folds one thousand cranes will be granted either good luck or a wish. Traditionally, the cranes are threaded together once they’re folded, and then given as gifts or hung in one’s own home.

The above is a Level 1 Menger Sponge constructed from 20 structural units made from 6 business cards each, plus exterior paneling, for a total of 168 cards. The unit was assembled, as always, without any glue or other fasteners. A menger sponge is a fractal cube created by dividing each face into nine squares and then removing the center square. The complexity of the sponge increases as you repeat the process with each of the remaining squares on the face, and then the squares left from that process and so on.

This modular origami star was folded out of 30 uncut sheets of origami paper and assembled without any glue or other fasteners. The individual units are slotted together on the outside of the model, which makes it a wee bit easier to assemble than the kusudama I folded a couple of weeks ago. Like the origami box, this model was designed by Tomoko Fuse. It took approximately three hours to fold all of the individual units.

This origami box was folded from 8 uncut sheets of paper: 4 double sided (lid) and 4 patterned (base). The box was assembled entirely without glue or fastener of any sort, as the four units for the base and lid all slot together to form a structurally stable unit. The completed box measures about 3 inches square. The box pattern was created by the celebrated origami master Tomoko Fuse, and can be found in her book Origami Boxes.

The above is a kusudama folded from 30 squares of paper. Each square of paper is folded into a modular unit, and then the units are assembled without any adhesives or other external connections - they are simply slotted into each other. This model took approximately four hours to fold and assemble. The folding of the modular units in progress. This is about 1 hour into the process. The fully folded modular units.